Love island draws more Ofcom complaints about smoking than sex

Iain Lynn

More than half of complaints made about Love Island have been about smoking rather than scenes of a sexual nature, Ofcom has said.

The reality dating show puts single men and women in a Majorcan villa together in order for them to find love and ultimately win a cash prize, and so far this series there have been several on-air instances of intimate behaviour between couples.

But while a lot of the focus of the show – which airs after the watershed at 9pm daily – is about the islanders' love lives and bedroom antics, the frequent scenes of contestants smoking cigarettes has caught the attention of viewers.

The media regulator has received 46 complaints about the ITV2 series so far, and 24 of those were from viewers objecting to the portrayal of smoking.

Fifteen complaints have been made regarding the promotion of "sexual material and promiscuity".

Other complaints lodged included grievances about a racial slur, the use of bad language and the objection of violence when a contestant threw a cushion "aggressively".

Ofcom has said it will assess the 46 complaints before deciding whether to investigate further.

Fans have been sharing their thoughts on Twitter about the contestants' smoking on the programme, which is regularly pulling in around two million viewers per episode.

One viewer tweeted: "The amount of smoking on Love Island is actually shocking."

Another asked: "Do they all decide to start smoking when they join Love Island? #LoveIsland."

Last year's series of Love Island was cleared by Ofcom after it was investigated over scenes involving two housemates getting intimate.

Shots of the contestants filmed using night-vision cameras showed a sex act shortly after the watershed, but the regulator said it did not breach broadcasting rules.